Financial Industry Continues to Evolve

By Andy Meek

Here’s a roundup of what some of the city’s banks and bankers, investment professionals, and other financial services shops have been up to in recent weeks.

On the personnel front, Financial Federal recently appointed bank president William Tayloe to the board. Tayloe will be responsible for repositioning and expanding the company’s presence locally and elsewhere.

Magna Bank has named Kim Weaver as its first vice president of private banking. Weaver, who has worked in banking in the Memphis area for more than 25 years, will primarily work with clients in the medical and professional industries.

With Weaver’s hire, Magna now has five private bankers available to give customers in-depth service across its branches.

B. Brandon Bryant has joined FirstCapital Bank as vice president of commercial lending. He brings more than 20 years of financial experience to the position and is located in the Laurelwood office on Perkins Road Extended.

Wunderlich Securities Inc. has added several people to its Private Client Group and Equity Capital Markets businesses in recent months. With these hires, the equity capital markets division today has 18 senior analysts covering about 210 companies in five industry verticals. And the equity capital markets sales force has grown to 23 senior salespeople, 10 traders/sales traders, and 19 senior investment bankers.

Duncan Williams Inc. recently hired about two dozen recent college graduates from around the country for a newly launched Financial Adviser Training Program.

There’s been a noticeable groundswell of charitable efforts and gift giving of late. Wells Fargo managers and team members, for example, recently chose 13 nonprofits across the Memphis area for grants as part of Wells’ annual Days of Giving program.

“Days of Giving allows us to applaud the nonprofits who serve and help people across Memphis.”

–Ari Litvin, Wells Fargo Advisors

It marked an expansion from last year, in which eight groups were recognized. This year, those 13 groups got $1,000 checks from Wells.

“Days of Giving allows us to applaud the nonprofits who serve and help people across Memphis every day,” said Ari Litvin, Wells Fargo Advisors Mid-South complex manager.

Likewise, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently awarded $35,000 in grants to Memphis nonprofits that provide services including building and rehabbing of affordable housing, homeowner counseling, and foreclosure prevention programs. The funds are part of $22 million in housing-related grants that will impact low- and moderate-income communities in 34 states.

Other financial firms do good also by looking inward. Accounting and consulting firm CBIZ MHM Thompson Dunavant has launched a professional development and networking program for women executives in the firm’s Memphis office.

The program is a yearlong initiative comprised of a series of small group meetings and program action items, and it represents the increasing reality that accounting is no longer heavily dominated by men. Also, it’s a nod to the fact that the growing number of women in the field necessitates a greater focus on networking, leadership, mentoring and other skill-building opportunities for women.

“We have 50 percent women in our office, and plenty of our up-and-comers are women,” pointed out Megan Murdock, client development manager at CBIZ. “And I think it’s important to let them know there’s a network for them within the firm, that there’s a support system for them.”

On the awards front, Orion Federal Credit Union was recently recognized among the best-of-the-best in credit union marketing worldwide by the Credit Union Executives Society, CUES, in its annual Golden Mirror Awards competition.

CUES recognized the achievements of Orion for its creative marketing efforts. Orion received two awards of merit for Logo and Image Enhancements.